China has sentenced Zhang Zhan to another 4 years in prison, who documented the first phases of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Wuhan
Journalist Zhang Zhan in Wuhan, photo: Eyepress via AFP / AFP / Profimedia
A Chinese journalist, previously sentenced to four years in prison for documenting the first phases of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Wuhan, received four years of detention on Friday, according to the organization without borders (RSF), quoted by Rador.
Zhang Zhan, 42 years old, was found guilty of “provoking conflicts and disturbing public order” – the same accusation for which she had been convicted in December 2020, after publishing direct reports on the initial spread of the virus in Wuhan.
The RSF criticized the sentence, stating that Zhang “should be celebrated as a hero of information, not held under brutal detention.” The international organizations for the freedom of the press demand the immediate release of journalist and diplomatic pressures on Beijing. Zhang had been initially arrested after posting reports and images from overgomite hospitals for months and stood deserted, who contradicted the official version.
She entered the hunger strike one month after the arrest, being immobilized and fed forced by the police, according to her lawyers. Released in May 2024, Zhang was retained again three months later and placed in the Pudong detention center in Shanghai. The RSF says that the new trial came after the journalist reacted about human rights abuses, and his former lawyer stressed that the accusations are based on comments published on sites abroad.
The Committee for the Protection of Journalists qualified the case as “a new persecution action” and demanded the cessation of arbitrary detention. China has the largest number of journalists in prison worldwide – at least 124, according to RSF. The country ranks 178th out of 180 in the World Index of the Freedom of Press in 2025.
One week before this new conviction, the Chinese Legislature has adopted a law that accelerates the responses to public health emergencies, allowing the direct reporting of incidents, without going through the official hierarchy
